Movie Poster Database

This post begins with Twitter. I have a Twitter account, although I'm still not really sure why. But if you choose the people you follow carefully, sometimes you find interesting articles or links. So while I was doing my quick daily sweep, I clicked on a link shared by famed movie critic Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago), and I was certainly glad I did. The link was to Movie Poster Database. Some genius decided to make a database for movie posters so we could all enjoy their visual splendor. You can search them by year, title, directors, actors, and more. But what's really cool is that the database has versions of the posters created for different countries, too. It's interesting to see changes made to posters based on the culture, aesthetics, or expectations of another country. Plus movie posters are a great resource to look at art trends and the goods and bads of layout and typography, which I'm not expert at, but I like to think about this kind of stuff. 

The website is set up as an exchange: If you upload a high-res movie poster, you get a free movie poster download; If you don't have any posters to upload, you can buy credits and the money goes to support the server. But you can look all you want for free. Because of this setup, they don't allow hotlinks from their page. So instead I hotlinked a coupla posters from other places, just so's you could get a flavor.

Adventures in Babysitting, and and 80s classic...at least in my family. Rad 80s font and an illustration instead of a photo.

Splendor in the Grass starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, 1961. This move is intense and very worth watching. I love how the lettering is manipulated and puzzle-like.

You Can't Take It with You starring Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, and loads of others, 1938. The movie is quirky and hilarious. Everyone's cheeks are illustrated so rosily. I also like the simplicity of the sans serif font and the easy pop of the yellow and red contrast.